NEWSLETTER

OUR MISSION: To preserve the natural and cultural heritage of El Charco del Ingenio, and maintain a botanical garden dedicated to the conservation and study of regional flora and ecosystems, with a primary focus on environmental education.

Love for all living creatures is the noblest attribute of man.
Charles Darwin

20 YEARS OF SPRING EQUINOX CONCERTS IN THE CANYON OF EL CHARCO

On October 2, 1998 a catastrophic flood occurred in San Miguel, due to extraordinary rains and the breaking of an edge in the upper basin of the municipality. The torrential flow of water rushed for hours through the dams and the canyon of Charco, uprooting the existing vegetation and leaving the bare rocks in its bed and cliffs. Although the loss of trees and shrubs was unfortunate, we discovered that a section of the canyon had the shape of a natural amphitheatre. And not only that. We realized that this new "stone forum" had now, devoid of vegetation, an extraordinary acoustic quality. And what if we were to do a concert here, when the water does not run?, said someone from the Charco team. And as we often tend to say yes to everything, we decided to do so and then we invited Tribu, a musical ensemble that pioneered pre-Colombian instruments, to join the Equinox celebrations at the Botanical Garden, in March 1999. With a small and scattered audience among the canyon rocks, the musical experience of that sunny afternoon turned out to be extraordinary, as a concert and also as a ritual.

Since then, each year the spring concert has been held in the forum of the canyon, with a growing audience and always with different musical groups of a very diverse nature. This year will be 20 years of performing these concerts. The list of groups that have offered their music over the last 19 years is interesting:

CONCERT OF SPRING EQUINOXVOICES OF THE EARTH: MULTIPHONIC CHANTS

Charco del Ingenio Canyon Sunday, March 24, 5:30 p.m.

Tickets for sale as of March 1
General: 250 pesos
Members: 200 pesos
National students and professors with valid credentials: 200 pesos

*We remind the public that it is not allowed to smoke or bring your own food into the Botanical Garden. We recommend wearing comfortable shoes and sun screen.

We will be offering membership at 800 pesos instead of 900 on the day of the Spring Equinox Concert for anyone who wants to renew or become a new member. You would also get the discounted price of the concert ticket at that time.

SCIENCE AND CULTURE IN THE BOTANICAL GARDEN

The spring equinox marks the end of rest that comes with winter, to start a cycle of movement and flowering. For years the change has not gone unnoticed in the Botanical Garden and this time, the customary ceremony conducted by Alicia Mayo and an astronomical observation led by the astronomer Phyllis Pitluga will be held. Recall that El Charco is a provocative place to unite culture and science in celebration of the great feast of the Earth. ALL ARE WELCOME.

EQUINOCCIO CEREMONY
Wednesday March 20/10am
Plaza of the Four Winds
Contribution: Ticket to the Garden (50 pesos)
Conducted by Alicia Mayo

IMPORTANT NOTICE: TEMPORARY RELOCATION OF CHARCO RECEPTION STARTING FEBRUARY

Since the remodeling of the entrance area to the Botanical Garden is imminent, the services of attention to the public, including the store, the cafeteria and the toilets, have been temporarily displaced to the multipurpose room of the Garden (known as the Boveda), in front of the Plaza of the Four Winds. The access door to the Garden and the vehicular parking area however will remain the same for all users, and will always be attended by the staff of El Charco. Once inside the Garden, visitors might start their tour starting with the new provisional reception at the Boveda. This will involve some inconveniences in customer service, for which we ask for the cooperation and patience of all our visitors

RECOGNITION TO THE DONORS OF THE NEW CHARCO VISITORS CENTER

We appreciate the trust and patience of all those who have financially supported this renovation project of the Botanical Garden. And we hope to see the list of donors grow in the coming months, until we reach our goal. Thanks to (in chronological order of their contribution, as of January 31, 2019): Hernán Drobny, Peter & Gillian Neumeier, George Yatskievych, Richard Mason, Francisco Ríos Jimenez, Christine McReynolds, Margot Dufrene Ketz, Deborah Chlebana, Richard Plewa, William Lee Grinager, Karen Von Felten (In memoriam), Fisher Weisman, Carol Jackson, King Culp, Michael Pope, Rod & Glenna Copeland, Richard Gulland, Ed Lawn, David Ziff Entreprises, Kahren & Michael Arbitman, Alfredo Alcántara, Viktor Hackl, Terry & Jack Reinhart, William Peters, Honey Sharp, Gregory Diamant, Monica Gerez, Kathleen Sheperd, Jimena Giménez Cacho, Christopher Hixson, Alberto Gonzalez Varela, Eduardo Adame, Joy Levine, Ronnie Thomae , Goerdt and Maria Abel, Noami Zurcher and Francois and Regine Sicart. And a special thanks to San Miguel Community Foundation for the important contribution specifically granted for the creation of the Interpretation Center of the new project. Americans who would like a tax receipt, can donate to The San Miguel Community Foundation and put El Charco’s project on the memo line.

Donations can be made directly at the reception of the Botanical Garden or by bank transfer to:

CHARCO PARTICIPATION ON PANEL AT THE FEDERAL CONGRESS ON NATURAL AREAS

On February 28, members of the board of the Botanical Garden attended the invitation to participate in a meeting called Strengthening the Areas Voluntarily Assigned for Conservation (ADVC in Spanish), 10 years of federal protected natural areas. The event took place in the national Congress in Mexico City, with the attendance of national environmental officials, as well as members of the respective commissions of the chambers of senators and federal deputies.

In this panel, which was broadcast live on the official channel of the Congress, our delegates exposed the conservation experience of El Charco del Ingenio, while emphasizing the need for a more effective legislation and greater support from the national government for strengthening of protected natural areas throughout the country.

EL CHARCO HERBARIUM: A CONTRIBUTION TO SCIENTIFIC COLLECTIONS OF THE COUNTRY AND THE WORLD

During the last three centuries, botanists have documented the diversity of plants on our planet through samples stored in biological collections known as Herbaria. These constitute centers of dynamic research and information, and a cornerstone for the knowledge, conservation and use of our the planet’s plant diversity.

Aimed as a source of public consultation and information management of the curators of each scientific biological collection, there are official web pages on the herbaria: physical location, number and type of specimens, date of foundation, associated personnel, contact info, areas of expertise, etc. The first of these is the Index Herbarium, which is a guide to active herbaria in the world; at the local level, it highlights Scientific Biological Collections of Mexico which includes, in addition to herbaria, zoological, mycological, etc. collections.
El Charco’s herbarium is in the process of being registered the federal environmental authority (SEMARNAT) as a scientific collection for research, education and promotion purposes. Each collection is identified by an unique code, and our herbarium is recognized nationally and internationally under the acronym WLM. For more information you can visit the following links, where you can find our herbarium or a scientific biological collection of your interest:

LEARNING TO FLY

In this season of the year, it is common for many of our visitors and friends to find small birds on the ground and pick them up with great concern asking what they can do to save them. The answer is: nothing. Nothing? It is necessary to understand the natural process by which chicks learn to fly. Just at the end of Spring, all those birds that were born this year are beginning their first flights. It is normal that while learning they spend a lot of time on the ground, since when they leave the nest and move their wings for the first time, they do not yet have enough muscle and strength to maintain long flights. Usually one of the parents follows and goes to the constant call of these "fledglings", to locate them and feed them. It is evident that during this process there is a great depredation of the chicks by cats, dogs, squirrels, other birds --and by humans, when they try to "save them".

If we find on the ground a small bird, of opaque colors, yellowish beaks, with some down, but with the plumage of its wings and full tail, it means that it is a "fledgling". It is not necessary to touch it, lift it, or feed it, since it is fine. We can move away and hide a little and after a short time we will see how one of the parents will fly towards the chick to feed it. If so you can follow your calm and safe path of having observed a simple and amazing natural phenomenon.

SHARE EL CHARCO

A great way to help the Botanical Garden, is to share with your friends and family this newsletter, as well as the notes we publish on social networks and, of course, your love for this important space for the entire San Miguel community.
Thank you very much for your support!

THE FOSSIL CONTAMINATION OF WATER: THE CRISIS THAT NOBODY WANTS TO SEE

Last February 9th, a Water Forum organized by local groups took place in San Miguel, in El Sindicato cultural center. T his meeting follows the three forums on this topic held annually in the Botanical Garden since 2016. This year the Forum was attended by various specialists and activists from the region, who exposed the serious situation of water in their municipalities. The Declaration of El Charco del Ingenio , was also endorsed, a manifesto signed in 2016 by more than 100 organizations, scientists, producers and citizens about the serious water crisis in the northern area of the State of Guanajuato.

San Miguel de Allende, along with several municipalities in the north of the State of Guanajuato, is supplied with an extensive water table, known as the Aquifer of Independence. The prolonged and massive extraction of groundwater, from a predatory model of agricultural and livestock exploitation, has exhausted practically all the springs that gave life and prosperity to San Miguel throughout its history. This extractivist model, increasingly oriented to agroexports, has caused in a few decades the severe depression of the water table, preventing the natural recharge of the aquifer. The depth of the extraction has already reached strata with fossil substances, causing the presence in the water of minerals that are proven to be harmful to human health, such as fluoride, arsenic and sodium, among others. The increasing contamination of water is so severe that in many wells in the region it already exceeds the indexes of the official Mexican drinking water standard.

Faced with this alarming situation - which has been documented by repeated scientific research - it is frustrating that the authorities of water management, the agricultural and health sectors, systematically practice the denial and concealment of a crisis whose effects are already devastating, especially in the child population of rural communities. There are no public policies that point to the primary cause of this water crisis and that stop the continuous and indiscriminate extraction of groundwater. A new and consistent official policy would allow the gradual recharge of the aquifer, the only solution to get rid of fossil-based minerals that are increasingly abundant in water.

We cannot forget that water is a human right, enshrined in our Constitution and in international treaties signed by Mexico, which is increasingly threatened, in addition, by privatization attempts that seek to manage water as a commodity and not as what it is : a common good of nature to which we all have a right.

MARCH ACTIVITIES

Bird-watching Tours

Every first and third Wednesday of the month, 9 am – 11:30 am. English Cost: 150 pesos general public | 100 pesos or El Charco members
Guides include Signe Hammer, Norman Besman, Luke Rich and Michael Wheatcroft.
The walks are for birders of all levels. They begin at 9:00 am and last about 2 1/2 hours. No reservations needed, and feel free to leave the walk at any time. Please bring binoculars, wear comfortable walking shoes and a hat, and bring water. Your guide will meet you after you pass through the Reception area of the Botanical Garden.

Info.:charcodelingeniocomunicacion@gmail.com

Guided Tours in El Charco

Tuesdays and Thursday, 10:00a.m. – 12:00p.m.

Cost: 150 pesos, members 100 pesos

Visit the Conservatory of Mexican Plants, the Scented Garden and the canyon, archeological ruins and much more. We recommend you wear sunscreen, and bring a hat.

Don’t forget the free transportation from town to El Charco on these days.

Saturday, March 30th / 10am. / with Gustavo Munguia

This sweat-lodge steam bath, of ritual and healing character, takes place under the direction of an experienced temazcal leader in the ruins of the hacienda located in the Botanical Garden on the far side of the reservoir.
The combination of heat, humidity and fragrant herbs provides a purifying experience for the body and spirit. Its benefits are multiple: it activates circulation, increases the body’s defenses, eliminates pains, decreases uric acid, relaxes the muscles, regulates the nervous system, stimulates respiration and is excellent for losing weight.

We suggest bringing a flashlight for when you go from the temazal to the reception.

PUBLICATIONS OF THE BOTANICAL GARDEN

Throughout its existence, El Charco has published several books and pamphlets in Spanish and English, on flora and natural resources of the reserve and the region of San Miguel de Allende. To these, other publications by researchers and scientific institutions on related subjects have been added. All are issues of great interest and quality, and are on sale at the Gift Shop.

Click on the book for more information about it.

At the Café

Come check out our new temporary facilities, while enjoying nature.

In the Gift Shop

We have moved to the Boveda! We will see you there.

WHEN YOU VISIT THE BOTANICAL GARDEN….

BRING YOUR THERMOS OR WATER BOTTLE, which can be filled for free from the wáter fountain near the reception/café.

El Charco del Ingenio is plastic bottle free zone, and, for obvious reasons, they are not sold on site since they become garbage, rarely recycled, representing an unnecesary expense for the user and a benefit for the corporations that exploit groundwater.